Admiral Gianpaolo Di Paola, former chief of defense staff and former defense minister, explains why Russia decided to send the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” to the Mediterranean Sea with Zircon hypersonic missiles.
Interview with Gianpaolo DiPaola
Admiral of the Italian Navy, Former Defense Chief of Staff and Former Defense Minister
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there Russia decided Reinforcement of its fleet in the Mediterranean Deploying one of his best naval units from the North Sea Fleets, the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov”, set up for the occasion with Zircon hypersonic missiles, weapons described by Putin as “unrivaled anywhere in the world”. The announcement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu certainly did not go unnoticed in the West, especially given the war in Ukraine, and inevitably caught the attention of Western media from the North Sea given the arrival of the already departed frigate.
The ship will join the rest of Russia’s Mediterranean fleet through the Strait of Gibraltar carefully monitored by NATO ships, including that of the Italian Navy, as assured by Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Squadron. About the importance of this decision by Putin and the possible impact Fanpage.it spoke to Admiral Gianpaolo Di Paola about itformer Chief of Defense and former Secretary of Defense.
Admiral, why did Putin deploy the new frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” with hypersonic missiles in the Mediterranean?
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Today, any case involving Russia, such as Russian ships, inevitably raises alarms, but in reality, in my opinion, there is nothing out of the ordinary in this case for a number of reasons. First, the Russians have always stationed ships in the Mediterranean, always with a sometimes more consistent, sometimes less, but always active presence. Secondly, it must be borne in mind that the ships of the Black Sea Fleet cannot put out to sea today due to the blockade of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus Strait. So the only way to be present in the Mediterranean is to send ships from outside, that is, from the North Sea fleets.
Admiral Gianpaolo di Paola
However, the arrival of the frigate will inevitably strengthen the Russian Mediterranean fleet. What dangers can Russian ships pose?
It is normal for public opinion to pay special attention to what is happening in Ukraine, as well as institutional authorities to the possible and potential dangers, for example, of sea data cables. These are factors that draw attention to these naval units, but I don’t think ships are being sent for it, it seems unrealistic and I repeat: it’s a fairly normal presence. We recall that the Russians play a role and are present in both Syria and Libya, and that this presence can only be maintained from the sea. In addition, the Russians have had an important and historical base in Syria since the Cold War era and, after all, they are always extremely controlled ships, not only by the Italian fleet, and that is also true, but normal.
What is the ultimate purpose of the arrival of this new Russian ship with Zircon missiles?
The presence of these naval units in the Mediterranean is a way for the Russians to show that their situation is not as weak as it is being portrayed, that they are still capable of maintaining their presence in the Mediterranean. In short, right now it has more political significance, a way to show that Russia is by no means cornered and weakened and actually has the capability to do what it has always done in the Mediterranean. A signal also in the media after the constant reports in the western media about the knee trap of the Russian armed forces. The announced deployment of Zircon missiles is also a demonstration of military power and therefore has political significance, a way of saying, ‘Look, we have very powerful missiles that we can put on our ships and send them where and when we want.” .